I’m going to do my best to keep up with Sienna’s monthly updates on the blog but definitely no promises!
Sleep – Newborn sleep is really sporadic and it’s hard not knowing what you’re going to get each day and night. We have some really good sleep days where she takes good naps, goes down easily and only has two feedings at night as opposed to three. She’s also been much easier to put back to sleep in the middle of the night (I hope I’m not jinxing it!) compared to the first couple of weeks where Joe would hold her while she screamed for an hour and I could get some sleep! But we still have rough days where she only wants to be held and is up more at night. We invested in a used Snoo which is a smart bassinet. It senses when the baby cries and will amp up the movement and white noise. It doesn’t always work but I think it is helping Sienna when she’s going through a sleep cycle and keeping her asleep longer at night. We’re at about 3-4 hour stretches at night which is normal for a newborn but I’m looking forward to when they lengthen a bit more. 🙂 I’m planning on doing a review of the Snoo once we’ve had it longer as it makes some really bold claims (replaces a night nurse, helps babies sleep 9+ hours at night, sleep trains babies by 2-3 months old). Not sure those claims are quite accurate but I have liked it so far. It’s also much safer than the Rock n Play which is what we were using for a while as Sienna just didn’t like to lay flat.
Breastfeeding – Nursing has been going really well and I’m so thankful for that. I had just weaned Emilia from nursing when I found out I was pregnant with Sienna so it hadn’t been that long of a break for me. It was pretty easy to get back into the groove. Her latch was good from the start and so far we’ve had no real issues. She does get gassy/fussy at times when she’s nursing but that’s normal. I also introduced a bottle at about a week old which is sooner than I did with Enzo or Emilia. I always waited the full month (which some people will recommend) but I knew that if I was going to get any extra sleep, I would need Joe to be able to give her a bottle in the middle of the night. With the other two kids, I was always worried/stressed about losing my milk supply if I missed even one feeding. But this time around, I trusted my body and baby and we’ve been doing just fine. I’ve been using this silicone pump to catch milk while Sienna nurses on one side and that has helped me stock up quite a bit of milk already. Getting those extra hours of sleep has been truly amazing!
Milestones – Not a whole lot goes on the first month but she’s much more alert now and makes her presence known. 🙂 Looking forward to that first real smile soon!
Exercise – Nothing to add here for me since it’s still too early. Looking forward to getting back into some form of exercise once I’m able as I really didn’t work out much during this pregnancy. When (?) the weather cools off, I would love to start walking/running again with baby.
Food – I’m trying to eat as clean/healthy as we can manage right now to help with milk supply, energy and overall health. I’m back to fully vegan/gluten free (though I eat eggs occasionally) and feel really good. We made a lot of freezer meals/snacks a few months ago which has been really helpful. Also, we have had lots of friends bring healthy dinners which is so appreciated! I’m thankful for grocery delivery too when we just can’t make it to the store on our own. Some meals I’ve been doing consistently include: oatmeal/fruit/nuts (I pre-made a lot of steel cut oats and oatmeal bakes while pregnant), quinoa bowls w/beans or chickpeas, veggies and avocado, homemade/store bought granola bars and energy balls, trail mix (middle of the night snack!), coconut milk yogurt with fruit and granola (homemade or store bought), hummus with veggies and crackers.